Symphogear EX
by KitchenReno
Summary: Other dimensions start leaking into the Symphogear Universe with unexpected results. Crossover elements don't appear right away. Hibiki X Miku Kirika X Shirabe Tsubasa X Maria X Kanade Chris X all of the before mentioned
1. Chapter 1

Tsubasa Kazanari awoke in a cold sweat, screaming silently.  
Forcing herself to calm down, she rolled over in bed to gaze at the hotel bed opposite her own.  
There was a click, and the lamp on the bedside table came on, partially illuminating the figure of Maria Cadenzavuna Eve. Dressed in a plain nightgown, the older idol was sitting up on the edge of her own bed wither arms crossed under her chest and a hard look in her sea green eyes. "…So you _were_ having nightmares," Maria said, her tone clipped, "How long has this been going on for?"  
Without answering, Tsubasa rolled onto her other side so as to face away from Maria. "Tsubasa!" Maria said indignantly, and Tsubasa sighed. "Go to sleep, Maria," Tsubasa said quietly.  
Maria was annoyed, but she knew she wouldn't get anywhere by bothering Tsubasa. Of course, this knowledge only served to annoy her more. "Trying to take everything onto yourself and bear it alone isn't going to help anyone," Maria sighed, turning the light back off and lying down again, "That's a lesson we've all learned by now."  
Tsubasa knew Maria was right, of course.  
Unfortunately, this wasn't something she could talk to Maria about.  
Because the nightmares were about _her.  
_ Tsubasa knew what the dreams meant, of course. They were replays of Kanade's death, only with Maria playing the role of Kanade. Tsubasa had been in love with Kanade, Maria was wonderful, and it did not require a doctorate in psychology to figure out why she would be having these dreams.  
Tsubasa tried to imagine what her friends would say if she told them about this. Hibiki would blush and stammer helplessly, Miku would pat her hand in a knowing, sympathetic manner, and Chris would-  
Chris would -  
Chris would blush, stammer, call Tsubasa an idiot repeatedly, and probably give Tsubasa the silent treatment for some time after. Akatsuki would just faint flat-out, and Tsukoyomi would simply immediately tell Maria. Telling Shinji or her uncle was obviously out of the question; She'd never hear the end of it if that happened.  
…Tsubasa knew that this was just her mentally dancing around the problem. There was only one person that she'd be able to turn to in a time like this, and despite the fact that said person was long dead, she knew exactly what they'd say. "What are you telling me for, Tsubasa? Tell her!" And then they'd grin wolfishly at her and tousle her hair affectionately. "I will, Kanade," Tsubasa whispered to herself, closing her eyes and snuggling into the warmth of the memory, "Once the concert tomorrow is over, I promise."

The concert was a memorial for those who had died during the disaster five years ago, and it had been decided that it would take place in the same venue as that fateful concert had. Tsubasa had initially questioned the wisdom of this, as it was clearly jinxing things - Though she herself held no such belief in such things. Still, she had ultimately gone along with it, because the concert venue HAD been in use without incident for five years, and with the Treasury of Babylonia destroyed, there was not much chance of that incident repeating itself. All this Tsubasa knew, and yet-  
And yet-  
…She just kept having the same dream about Maria dying.  
The set list was a combination of Tsubasa's songs, Maria's songs, their duets, and Zwei Wing songs. The last song was to be Zwei Wing's greatest hit, and final song ever performed: Gyakko no flugel.  
It was the only song that they could end with. Anything else just wouldn't have been right.  
During the show, she and Maria were in perfect synch. It was the best performance either of them had ever given, together or individually. Their dancing was flawless, their every note perfectly on pitch and key. Even the lighting and effects were better than they usually were. _This is it,_ Tsubasa thought to herself as she performed with all she had, _this is the dream. What I've always wanted to do._ _More than anything in this world I've wanted the world to hear my songs when I was at my best, and that is what is happening now.  
_ _I made it, Kanade.  
_ Overhead, the sky rippled, though both audience and performers were too distracted to notice.  
Finally, it was time for the final number. The music swelled. The lights dimmed.  
Tsubasa and Maria took their positions on stage.  
And the audience began to scream.

 _Killter Ichaival tron_

Four enormous missiles launched from the stands into the air some hundred feet above the stage, and a familiar voice screamed out over the cacophony: "LOOK ABOVE YOU, SEMPAI!"  
Tsubasa and Maria immediately looked up - And just as quickly regretted doing so. Holes had opened in the very fabric of reality itself, and from them were descending monsters of indescribable horror. Misshapen entities of tentacles and slime they… exploded spectacularly in a hail of missiles.  
This was somewhat anticlimactic.  
More holes in reality opened closer to the ground, and out of them crawled horrific beings that were part fish, part frog, and all riddled with bullet holes from Ichaival's Billion Maiden. "Yukine! Secure an escape route for the audience!" Tsubasa shouted, pulling her relic out from her dress.  
"Please leave that to me, Miss Kazanari," The voice of Shinji Ogawa said over the concert hall sound system, and at that very moment, the smoke machines went into overdrive, obscuring the view of the stage from the stands. Under the cover of the smoke, Tsubasa and Maria activated their relics, completely confident that Ogawa would get the audience out safely.  
Tsubasa found that if anything, she and Maria were more in synch in battle than they had been on stage - And their teamwork with Chris was excellent as well. "What the #$% are these things!? Chris shouted as she converted her Billion Maiden chain guns into crossbows and pirouetting on one foot, unleashing a storm of arrows around her, "Bastards aren't noise, or even anything like them!" And this was true. The monsters did not calcify on contact with armed gears - Though the gears were proving effective against them. "TSUBASA!" Maria roared, "YOUR NIGHTMARES! CAN YOU REMEMBER ANYTHING!?" "HAAH!?" Chris spouted indignantly, turning to glare incredulously at the pair of them, "WHAT DOES-TCH!" Chris cut herself off as her attention was pulled back to the swarm of tenebrous amphibians before her. "TSUBASA!" Maria screamed again, "TSUBASA, ANSWER ME!"  
Tsubasa looked around herself. Despite the monsters slow movement, their were thousands of them, they were everywhere, and more continued to pour out of the rips in the sky. One look at Chris told showed her that the younger woman was clearly on the ropes, and Tsubasa knew Chris would not survive if she became surrounded - Which was but an inevitability at this point. And as for Maria -  
Maria was bleeding.  
 _BECAUSE SHE WAS FIGHTING WITHOUT LINKER.  
_ In that moment, Tsubasa's panic cleared. She pointed her sword at the sky, and thousands of energy blades rained down upon the stage. She took a deep breath.  
" _OH NO YOU DON'T,"_ Chris screamed in rage, working out what Tsubasa was about to do, but Tsubasa just looked at her Kohai and smiled.

" _Gatrantis-"_

"OY!" A voice screamed from nearby, "DON'T GIVE UP ON LIVING!"

 _Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl_

Chris and Maria both misidentified this voice as Hibiki's - As this was what they knew to be on of her battle cries - but Tsubasa did not. Tsubasa knew that voice. Tsubasa stood frozen as a tornado like tube of whirling wind ripped through the monsters that surrounded her. She remained unmoving as a vermilion flash streaked across the battlefield, mowing down the monsters before her like blades of grass, leaping and twirling with the grace of a dance and slashing and stabbing with the deftness of an expert seamstress.

No way.

 _NO. WAY._

" _Your innocence, I want to protect,"_ sang a voice that Tsubasa would have recognized though a million years had passed, " _I believe in the love that will change your sadness into strength."  
_ "I don't know who the #$% that is, or what the #$% is going on," Tsubasa heard Chris say through gasps of pain, "But I LIKE IT! IGNITE MODULE: DRAWN BLADE!"  
Tsubasa just stared in disbelief. None of it seemed real.  
It was like a dream.  
And just like that, the tide of the battle had turned. The monsters fell before them, and the holes in reality vanished just as they had appeared. As for the remains of the monsters, they dissolved into tiny black stars and faded away without a trace.  
Tsubasa felt a hand on her shoulder, and when she turned, she found herself staring deeply into a pair of gentle vermillion eyes.  
It's been awhile-" Kanade began, but Tsubasa cut her off by kissing her right on the mouth.  
Maria and Chris stared in open-mouthed shock.

End Episode 1.


	2. Chapter 2

Kohinata Miku looked up at the twilight sky from where she sat on the park bench, and sighed heavily. Her time was running out. She and Hibiki would be graduating in a few months, and that was going to mean moving out of the school dorm room. The room that they shared.  
She wasn't going to get to live with Hibiki anymore.

There was a possibility that they'd get to live together if they went to the same university, but even that was going to come to an end eventually. And one day, Hibiki would get a boy- Miku shook herself, pushing the dreadful thought out of her mind. When that happened, it would happen, and there was no point in dwelling on it.

Someone sat down next to her on the bench, and handed her an apple, which she accepted graciously, grateful for something other than her impending separation from the woman she loved. "Thank you," Miku said without looking at the person who had handed her the apple, and she sighed once again.

She'd wanted so badly to go to, or at least be able to watch the concert that Tsubasa and Maria were doing that night, but she'd settled for recording it so she could watch it with Hibiki, as Hibiki was going to miss it due to class.

Whoever it was that had sat down next to Miku began crunching happily on an apple of their own, their red shoes waving back and forth in the air in front of them. *CRONCH CRONCH CRONCH*

Miku sighed again, and looked at the shopping bags that sat on the bench next to her. She needed to back home and get dinner started now if she was going to be done by the time Hibiki got out of cram school and came home. Hibiki was studying to become a paramedic - Not because she needed a job, her work with SONG took care of that - but because she wanted to be able to help people during disasters. The Symphogears didn't have to be weapons of war, they could be tools to help people, and that was the way Hibiki liked them best. Miku's eyes teared up involuntarily at this thought, and she felt a soft touch on her arm.

"Poyo?" a concerned voice asked from beside her, and she turned to look for the first time at the person who had handed her the apple. It wasn't a person. It was a pink beach ball with shoes. "Poyo!" It said brightly, patting her on the arm.

"Oh my!" Miku said in surprise, staring at the small being, "Now who might you be?" In response to this, the pink beach ball creature produced from somewhere a crude crayon drawing of itself that was labeled "Kirby." "Kirby?" Miku said slowly, and Kirby nodded brightly. "Well where did you come from?" Miku asked in confusion. "Poyo," Kirby said, pointing to the sky, and Miku accepted this without question, as it seemed that this was the best answer she was going to get.

"Oh my, the time!" Miku said suddenly, remembering that she had to get home, and she stood up abruptly. "Poyo?" Kirby asked her, giving her a concerned look, and Miku clicked her tongue. "Do you have a home to go to?" Miku asked Kirby, and Kirby nodded, pointing to the sky again. "Can you get back there?" Mike asked. She was concerned, as whatever this "Kirby" was, he was clearly a child, and she could not very well leave him unattended. "Is your mother with you?"

Kirby appeared not to understand the question.

Suddenly, Kirby lunged towards Miku, and grabbed her bodily, throwing the pair of them clear of the bench seconds before it was crushed by a huge metal sphere that had fallen from the sky. Wasting no time wondering what had just happened or why, Miku scooped Kirby up in her arms and tore off towards the school dorms. If she could get back there and hide until Hibiki got back, she'd be safe.

The sound of more spheres crashing to the ground behind her and ROLLING AFTER THEM IN PURSUIT caused Miku to pick up the pace and thank her lucky stars that she'd never fully given up track practice. She was also thankful for the track practice because it made the chances of her tripping and falling over randomly like a heroine in a horror movie become basically nil.

As Miku ran, she heard screams and explosions from all around her, but she paid no attention to them. Escaping with the child in her arms was all she could do. Miku had been through situations like this far too many times not to know what happened to people who stood around asking pointless questions.  
They died horribly. And Miku did not want to die just yet.

Exiting the park, she ran along the sidewalks of Tokyo, keeping her eyes on the path in front of her. When she came to a busy road, she rocked up the steps of a pedestrian overpass - And then screeched to a halt as three spheres landed in front of her with a crash. Slowly the balls unfolded into squat robotic monsters that were at least twice her hight. Massive claws adorned their short, stubby arms, and massive tusks pointed upwards at the fronts of their jaws. Whirling around, Miku saw two more of the monsters approaching her from the stairs behind her.

"HIBIKI!" Miku screamed, holding Kirby tightly to her chest… but Hibiki did not appear.

Popping out of Miku's arms, Kirby expanded in size, and his mouth opening wide, he inhaled one of the monsters.  
Miku did not quite know what to make of this development.

Kirby spat the monster out at another one of the monsters, only the monster he had inhaled came out as a glowing yellow star, and when said star connected with the monster, both star and monster disappeared with an almost comical popping noise.

Miku stared.

Running over to a third monster, Kirby slide-kicked it in the foot, knocking it into the air. Then he inhaled it, and fired it at the two remaining monsters that were coming up the stairs behind them. "I don't know what just happened, but I'll take it!" Miku said, grabbing Kirby back up in her arms and tearing off towards the dorms once again.

Once Miku reached the school grounds, she found an already transformed Hibiki desperately searching for her. "MIKU!" Hibiki shouted when she saw Hibiki. "HIBIKI!" Miku screamed, overcome with relief and terror that had been suppressed until this moment. "POYO!" Kirby shouted from his place in Miku's arms, not sure what was going on but happy to be a part of it. "Poyo?" Hibiki asked in confusion, but Miku didn't answer. She just hurled herself into Hibiki's arms. "Uwah!" Kirby said as he was squished like a pancake between them, and he floated gently to the ground where he popped back into shape, no harm done. Hibiki lifted Miku into her arms princess-carry style, and Miku flushed deeply, feeling her body temperature skyrocket. Sometimes Hibiki did things that made Miku think Hibiki might just possibly-

-No. If that was true, Hibiki would have picked up on it by now. Even Hibiki couldn't be THAT clueless.

…Probably.

"H-Hibiki, d-don't you have to deal with the monsters?" Miku stammered as her heart began skipping beats, but Hibiki shook her her head. "Teacher, Kirika-Chan and Shirabe-Chan dealt with them all already."

*CRONCH CRONCH CRONCH*

Hibiki looked around in confusion, and saw Kirby eating an apple. "Hibiki, this is Kirby," Miku said, "I don't know who he is, or how he got here, but he saved my life."

"Poyo!" Kirby said brightly, offering Hibiki an apple.

End episode two.


	3. Chapter 3

"Kiri-Chan," Shirabe said as she shook he girlfriend's shoulder, "Kiri-Chan, wake up." "Mmm water melons conquered pig stew mailbox dess," Kirika mumbled amiably, and then she rolled back over and continued sleeping. Shirabe's cheeks puffed up in annoyance. "Kiri-Chan!" She said, shaking the older girl again, this time more vigorously, "we've been summoned to the meeting room." "I don't wanna meet any rooms, I already got one," Kirika grumbled, burying her face in her pillow. Shirabe hmphed and turned away, her nose in the air.  
"Fine then, you can make your own breakfast," She said, turning and making for the door.  
Now, Kirika may have been asleep, but some things can be heard through anything. Especially when it was a matter of survival. "I'm awake dess!" Kirika shouted, throwing off her covers and getting up.

"…There's nobody here, dess," Kirika said, looking around the meeting room in annoyance, her hands on her hips, but Shirabe hid behind her and pointed under the table. "Kiri-chan, there's something moving under there."  
Skritch skritch skritch skritch  
An odd, somewhat familiar noise was coming from under the table now, and Shirabe squeezed Kirika's shoulders nervously. Knowing that her girlfriend was depending on her, Kirika steeled herself, and looked under the table. The scratching noice was the result of a pink beach ball colouring with crayons. "Poyo!" Kirby said, handing her a sheet of paper and a box of crayons, before returning to his colouring. Straightening back up, Kirika handed Shirabe the crayons and paper. "Cute dess!" She said emphatically, and Shirabe flushed, looking away. "No no," Kirika said, taking one of Shirabe's hands, "You're clearly cute, but I meant this." Kirika gestured under the table, and Shirabe cautiously knelt down and looked under it.  
Kirby waved.  
"…Cute…" Shirabe said softly, blushing.  
"KIRBY!" Called Miku from out in the hallway, "Kirby, where are you?" Hearing his name called, Kirby bounded out from under the table and ran over to the door, which opened, revealing Hibiki and Miku. "So this is where you got off to," Miku said, her hands on her hips, "You can't just wander off like that."  
Kirby just looked at her quizzically.  
"Does anyone know why we were called here?" Hibiki asked, taking a seat, and the other three shook their heads. "That would probably be because of me," said a new voice, and Hibiki fell out of her chair. "Kanade!" Tsubasa called out in embarrassment, running after she-who-was-supposed-to-be-dead, her face red and her manner flustered, "You were supposed to wait for the commander to introduce you!" Kanade waved away Tsubasa's protestations with a broad smile. "It's fine, Tsubasa," She said, pulling Tsubasa in close and kissing her on the cheek, "This saves time, and I wanted to meet everyone."  
Tsubasa squeaked at the kiss, and turned as red as her lover's hair. Also a bright red was Hibiki Tachibana, who had picked herself back up only to fall down again. "EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?" She shrieked in surprise, "EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"  
"I think you broke her," Shirabe said as Hibiki began to slap her own face repeatedly.  
"Did someone break the idiot?" Chris demanded as she pushed past Tsubasa and Kanade, and she marched over to Hibiki. "Hey, idiot! This isn't even in the top TEN weirdest things we've ever dealt with!" She snapped, grabbing Hibiki's shoulders and shaking her, "We fight aliens and wizards and demons all the time!" "Tsubasa and Kanade are GAY!?" Hibiki finally managed to sputter out.  
"YOU DIDN'T _KNOW!?_ " Chris screamed in exasperation, throwing her arms in the air, "HOW THE HELL DID YOU NOT KNOW!? _EVERYONE_ KNOWS!"  
In an attempt to confirm this, Hibiki turned first to Miku, who just nodded silently, and when she next turned to Kirika and Shirabe, she found that they were staring at her in disbelief.  
Then Kirika seemed to realize something, and she rounded on Tsubasa. "Have you talked to Maria about this!?" She demanded angrily, her fists clenched and her shoulders hunched. "Kirika, don't," Maria interrupted, her voice quiet, and Kanade looked sharply at Maria, seeming to have picked up on something.  
Tsubasa for her part, wilted.  
She looked very tired.  
Kirika, however, did not appear to care. "Coward! You're the worst dess!" She shouted angrily, pointing at Tsubasa, and then she ran out of the room. "Kiri-Chan!" Shirabe said in distress, chasing after the older girl. "Poyo!" Said Kirby, hopping out of Miku's arms and charging out the door after them.  
Tsubasa, Chris, Maria, and Kanade all stared at Miku in shock.  
"…I thought that was a stuffed toy," Kanade said finally.

Shirabe found Kirika sulking outside a warehouse not far from where the S.O.N.G. submarine was docked. Kirika was sitting with her back against the outside of the warehouse, her arms wrapped around her knees. "I know, I know dess" Kirka mumbled into her knees before Shirabe could say anything, "I shouldn't have said anything." Shirabe wordlessly knelt down next to her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around the older girl. "I believe in Tsubasa," Shirabe said softly, "She's not going to abandon Maria. Tsubasa's not like that. She's just very confused right now." Kirika nodded silently in response.  
"Akatsuki Kirika, Tsukuyomi Shirabe located," a female voice said from close by, her tone completely emotionless, "Proceeding with capture protocols."  
 _Kort Croitzal Bilfen Gungnir Tron  
_ Kirika and Shirabe looked up in shock at what stood before them: A woman in an iron mask… who was wearing a Black Gungnir.

After about a minute and a half of fighting - or the fourth time she was thrown into the wall, Shirabe wasn't sure which - Shirabe coldly realized that she and Kirika were badly outmatched, and by enough that even if they could pull unison off, it wouldn't matter. Not that unison - or the Ignite module, for that matter - were even options, as she and Kirika were fighting unmedicated and trying either would probably kill them.  
Shirabe also knew Kirika well enough to know that Kirika was just about to work this out herself, and would react by doing something stupid and selfless.  
This called for a change in tactics.  
Shirabe stopped attacking the figure, and began focusing on evading the masked spearwoman's strikes. "Shirabe?" Kirika asked, her eyes widening in surprise, confused at her girlfriend's sudden shift in behaviour. Shirabe was focusing on ineffective, annoying attacks, keeping her distance and drawing the enemy back towards the base. Now, Kirika might not have been the winner of the all-symphogear users uptake speed contest, but even she could see the plan here. "Got it, dess," she said under her breath, and she began to mimic Shirabe's combat.

Things were still going badly, and Shirabe was well aware of it. The mysterious black gungnir user had all of Maria's attacks, as well as some of her own. Worse, she seemed to know how Kirika and Shirabe fought, meaning that while they had yet to land a hit on anything other than her cloak, she was routinely landing hits on them. Shirabe was also well aware that her gear wasn't going to hold out much longer. Each time she blocked a slash, stab, or chop from the spear, she could feel her whole gear vibrate.  
She figured that she had maybe three blocks left in her before it shattered.  
She blocked an overhead strike. That's one.  
She blocked a strike from Gungnir's cloak. That was two.  
Kirika threw herself in front of strike three.  
Shirabe screamed.  
Kirby threw himself in front of Kirika and blocked the oncoming spear with a short sword. "Poyo!" He said bravely, charging towards the spearwoman, waving his small sword in the air, his long green hat streaming out behind him.

Much to Shirabe's surprise, Kirby was _not_ immediately defeated, and in fact appeared to be holding his own, despite being armed only with a sword that was about a foot long. And this was a good thing too, as it was just then that Shirabe's gear shut down - With Kirika's failing shortly after. The pair of them watched helplessly as Kirby valiantly fought against an enemy that much larger and more powerful than he was, determined to protect his new friends.  
Even when his sword was knocked from his hand, he refused to give way.  
The swordswoman raised her spear above her head, and brought it down again.  
It clattered harmlessly off of the blue and silver wall that suddenly appeared before her. And from from up in the sky, a voice boomed "KAZANARI TSUBASA, DEPLOYING FOR BATTLE!"

End Chapter Three.


	4. Chapter 4

Leaping down off of the top of her sword, Tsubasa hit the masked gear user like a tornado, flipping over in mid air and lashing out ferociously with the blades on her feet. "KANADE! MARIA!" She screamed as she landed on her hands and whirled like a blender towards the masked gear user, "GET TSUKUYOMI AND AKATSUKI OUT OF HERE!"

Maria and Kanade didn't waste time arguing, though Kanade was momentarily thrown by how different - how strong - Tsubasa had become.

As for Kirby, he was back on his feet and had recovered his sword, and had charged back into the fray. Despite his small size, he fought with a viscous determination. Tsubasa had to admit that she was impressed by the fluff ball's swordsmanship; It was simple, but elegant. It was clear that he had studied under a master.

As for the masked woman's fighting ability, there was clearly something very wrong with it. It was unnatural. Automatic.

Mechanical.

Tsubasa realized where she had seen this kind of fighting before.

"TACHIBANA! YUKINE! SHE IS BEING CONTROLLED!" Tsubasa shouted as soon as she realized it, "SHE'S NOT FIGHTING UNDER HER OWN WILL!"

"God damn it, why the hell does this keep happening!?" Chris demanded, carefully firing a single handgun repeatedly in an attempt to shoot off the girl's mask, "Hey idiot! Sempai! Kirby! Go for the mask, I think it's what is controlling her!"

"Why?" Hibiki asked in confusion, and then she shrieked and leapt back out of the way of a spear blow.

"Because it makes sense that it would be, stupid!" Chris shouted back with a snarl of exasperation, and trading out her handguns for crossbows, she redoubled her attacks.

After around thirty seconds of fighting, Chris soon realized that both Tsubasa and Hibiki were both somewhat off their game. Tsubasa was fighting far more aggressively than usual; her strikes were wild and unfocused. Contrarily, Hibiki's strikes were far more hesitant; As if she was overthinking things.

Only Kirby seemed to be fighting properly, and this made Chris angry. EVERYTHING made Chris angry, but this made Chris angrier than usual.

Nevertheless, despite her comrades' lack of focus, Tsubasa's skill, Hibiki's raw power, and it being a four-on-one fight meant that they were winning anyway.

Well, "Winning" was stretching it a little. It would be more accurate to say that they weren't losing. Of course, they would have been winning if they had been trying to do anything other than remove that mask, or if Chris had been going all out, but those weren't options. Chris might have been short-tempered and impatient, but she wasn't stupid, and she had a very good idea about who was under that mask. Endangering them simply wasn't an option.

However, as soon as Maria and Kanade returned, the masked figure just… Vanished.

To Chris' complete and total non surprise, this was not what Tsubasa was focused on.

Completely ignoring the sudden disappearance of the mysterious masked gear user, Tsubasa rounded on Maria and Kanade.

Or rather, she tried to. Chris was certain that had been Tsubasa's plan. She certainly didn't think that Tsubasa was planning what actually happened, which was that she immediately went doe-eyed and silent after meeting Kanade's gentle gaze.

Suddenly rallying, Tsubasa shook herself and turned to Maria, who was glaring at her with folded arms.

Tsubasa wilted again.

Chris rolled her eyes, and slapped a hand over her face.

Tsubasa had expected anger, and maybe even tears from Maria and Kanade when she confronted them. She had prepared herself for those things. What she had neither expect nor prepared for was for them to gang up on her.

She'd brought both of them back to her apartment with the intention of telling them that since she could not choose between them, she was breaking it off with both of them.

This was not what happened.

"Are you both sure you're okay with this?" Tsubasa asked weakly for what was probably the thousandth time, and the two women nodded from where they stood opposite her.

"Don't worry about it, Tsubasa!" Kanade said, walking up to her and placing her hands on her shoulders, "It's not like you're cheating on either of us; It's simply that neither one of us wants to give you up."

Tsubasa melted in the warm gaze of Kanade's vermillion eyes.

And then, as her self control melted away, a five year old grudge reared it's ugly head.

"IDIOT!" Tsubasa screamed suddenly, slapping Kanade violently across the cheek, "IDIOT IDIOT IDIOT!"

Kanade looked stunned.

Maria moved in on Tsubasa, pulling her into a tight embrace and rubbing her back in a soothing manner. "…Your death hit her hard," Maria said in a quiet but dangerous tone as she looked over Tsubasa's shoulder, her green eyes hard, "I'd start apologizing if I was you."

For her part, Tsubasa was blubbering uncontrollably.

"Tsubasa, I'm sorry," Kanade said gently, embracing her from behind, "It wasn't like I did it for fun though. I did it to save you and Hibiki - And because I was out of time anyway. My linker had worn off."

"I KNOW THAT!" Tsubasa screamed, falling to her knees and pushing her face into Maria's chest, "DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT!?"

For her part, Maria didn't say anything. She just kissed the top of Tsubasa's head and gently stroked her hair.

"You know I didn't mean to leave you Tsubasa," Kanade whispered into Tsubasa's ear, kneeling down behind her and rubbing her shoulders, "I just didn't see any other way out."

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE, BEING LEFT BEHIND!?" Tsubasa screamed into Maria's chest, her whole body going tense, "WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO WAKE UP AND REMEMBER THAT YOU WERE GONE!? EVERY DAY FOR FIVE YEARS!?"

"Shhh," Maria cooed gently, "Just relax, Tsubasa. Everything is all right now." Maria gently rubbed Tsubasa's back through her blouse, trying to ease the younger woman's taught muscles.

"I wish it had been me," Tsubasa blubbered, now full-on ugly crying, "I wished so hard that it had been me instead."

"And I wasn't going to let that happen," Kanade replied gently, "We were both selfish that way. I just happened to figure it out first."

Tsubasa controlled her breathing. Then she tilted her head upwards to look at Maria.

Who gazed at her gently, her blue/green eyes full of warmth.

"I love you," Tsubasa said, her facade of strength and steel evaporating like an ice cube on the sun. She pressed herself up against Maria, burying her face once more in the softness of Maria's chest, "I love you."

Maria's heart was overflowing. She ran her fingers up and down Tsubasa's spine, causing the blue haired woman to shudder slightly. "I love you too, Tsubasa," She said softly.

Tsubasa felt Kanade come up from behind her. "And what about me?" Kanade asked gently.

"Of course, I love you," Tsubasa said, twisting to look at Kanade, her eyes full of innocence.

Maria and Kanade each kissed one of Tsubasa's tearstained cheeks, and Tsubasa flushed violently.

Yukine Chris was angry. Yukine Chris was ALWAYS angry, but now she was angrier than usual. And she knew why. Because she was lonely.

And because everyone was being stupid. Everyone was ALWAYS being stupid.

So when the knock came on the door to her apartment, she was probably a little more enthusiastic in answering it than she would otherwise have been.

She was certainly more enthusiastic than she would have been willing to admit.

"Good evening, Sempai-" She said as she opened the door.

There was no-one there.

"Poyo," Kirby said.

Chris looked down at the pink beach ball creature.

"If you tell anyone I answered the door thinking it was Tsubasa I'll kill you," Chris said threateningly, glaring at Kirby with her arms folded.

"Poyo?" Kirby asked with his head/body tilted slightly.

"What the hell do you want, anyway?" Chris asked in annoyance, shrinking somewhat, and then stepping out of the doorway, she sighed and gestured inside. "Well, come in before someone sees you."

"Everyone is so stupid," Chris said as she got herself and Kirby glasses of milk from the fridge, "Sempai is stupid, my kohai are stupid, and that idiot is the stupidest of all."

"So, why are you here?" Chris asked Kirby as she handed him his glass, and he handed her a small note.

Chris read it, and turned red with embarrassment and anger.

"I thought you were staying with the idiot," She said to Kirby, scrunching up the note, "According to this, you're staying with me."

Kirby nodded brightly.

Chris controlled herself. She might have been a bad-tempered woman, but she wasn't cruel. "I supposed there is no helping it," She said with a sigh, "Nice to meet you, I guess."

End Chapter Four.


	5. Chapter 5

Chris was having nightmares again. Due to the rather graphic content of these terrors, I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that it was horrible.

"Poyo!"

Then there was a sound of rushing wind, and then the whole horrible world flowed away, leaving Chris sitting in a beautiful green meadow under a clear and starry sky.

"Poyo!" Kirby said brightly, walking up to her and handing her a donut.

Chris accepted it, and flopped down on her back.

"You're not so bad after all, are you," Chris said, reaching over with her free hand and patting Kirby on the head. He was soft and squishy, and felt like a very big stress ball.

Chris bit the donut.

To her surprise, it was light and fluffy, instead of heavy and greasy, which is what she had been expecting.

She sat up again, so she could properly eat the donut, and when she was finished, she wiped the crumbs off her face with the sleeve of her nightgown, and looked around herself.

"Where did you get that from, anyway?" Chris asked, forgetting to say thank you, and in a more aware tone, she continued "And where the hell are we?"

Chris couldn't help but feel that the world around her looked… Fake. It was too cutesy. The fruit in the trees above them was comedically oversized, the grass on which they sat was too soft and fluffy, and the stars in the sky above them were literally star-shaped, and Chris knew THAT couldn't be right.

"Well, assuming this is a dream, it doesn't really matter," She said as she stood up and brushed herself off, "As I'll probably be back in my bed when I wake up anyway."

Then an idea struck her.

"So if you're in my dream," She said, turning to Kirby with a wicked grin, "Does that mean we can go into anyone's dream?"

"Hibiki Tachina, this is your brain talking," The cloaked figure said as it grabbed Hibiki away from the all-you-can eat buffet she was dreaming about, "It's time you listened to me - PUT THAT FOOD DOWN. THIS IS IMPORTANT."

Hibiki swallowed, and turned to her accoster in confusion.

"Chris-Chan?" She asked, recognizing the voice immediately.

"I am not "Chris-Chan" I am your brain," The figure snapped angrily, "I'm not surprised that you don't recognize me, you don't use me much."

"Now listen to me: Don't you think it's a little bit unusual that you and Miku STILL share a single bed as adults?" The figure asked, and Hibiki blinked.

"No," She said finally, "Can I go back to the buffet now?"

"Really?" The cloaked figure asked incredulously, "You don't see ANYTHING weird with two adult women sharing a bed."

"I've always shared a bed with Miku," Hibiki replied blankly, "What difference does it make how old we are?"

Not Chris-Chan slapped her face.

"YOU'RE GAY, YOU MORON! She screamed, grabbing Hibiki by the shoulders and shaking her, "YOU ARE ROMANTICALLY IN LOVE WITH MIKU!"

Hibiki blinked again.

And then she slowly turned bright red.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?" Hibiki replied, blushing fiercely, "But we're both-"

"Shut up!" Not-Chris chan shouted, stamping a foot angrily, "You're gay! Miku is gay! Sem-Uh, Tsubasa, Maria, Kanade, Kirika, Shirabe - ALL GAY!"

"And Chris-Chan?" Hibiki asked, her eyes wide.

"NEVER YOU MIND ABOUT THAT," Not-Chris shouted indignantly, "You just remember that you're gay, and that you love Miku!"

Then Not-Chris smacked her again, and Hibiki woke up.

Hibiki blinked, trying to remember the dream she'd just had. Something about being gay and being in love with Miku.

Well, that made enough sense, Hibiki thought drowsily, only half awake, she knew from personal experience that her life without Miku was an empty shell devoid of any meaning.

Hibiki snuggled close to Miku, and wrapped her arms around her.

"I love you, Miku," She said softly, and then immediately fell back asleep.

Miku, on the other hand, was now very much awake. And she was having thoughts. Lots of thoughts. Thoughts like "!" ,"!?" and "!?"

Miku swallowed, trying and failing not to panic.

Was this it? Was this how it happened?

Miku steadied her breath.

"H-Hibiki," She began hesitantly, "Hibiki, what did you mean by that?"

Hibiki snored softly.

"Hibiki," Miku said again, louder this time, "Hibiki, what did you mean by that?"

Hibiki mumbled something unintelligible.

"MOU, HIBIKI, WAKE UP!" Miku shouted, shaking Hibiki's shoulders, "WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT!?"

"Uwaaah!" Hibiki shrieked in surprise, her eyes flying open, "What!? What!? Mean by what!?"

"Nothing," Miku said, chickening out at the last minute. She rolled over to face away from Hibiki, and tried not to cry.

"EHHHHHHH!? Why?" Hibiki asked in surprise - and then she noticed Miku was crying.

"…Miku?" She asked gingerly, putting a hand on Miku's shoulder, "…What is-"

"What am I to you!?" Miku demanded suddenly, facing Hibiki once again, her eyes streaming with tears and her composure in tatters.

Hibiki pulled Miku close, and stroked her back.

"You're my precious-"

"Friend!?" Miku blurted out, squeezing her eyes shut, her whole body going tense.

"-Sunflower," Hibiki finished, somewhat thrown.

"Next to you is my warmest spot," Hibiki said slowly, "I want to be with you forever."

"Even if we get married?" Miku asked, realizing in horror how that had sounded only after she had said it.

"I mean, when we get married to other people," She said quickly, "Not that we-"

"I don't want to get married to someone else," Hibiki interrupted, very taken aback "I want to marry you!"

There was a long silence.

And then they both started laughing.

Miku relaxed. Hibiki might reject her, but she wouldn't abandon her.

"Hibiki," Miku said, sitting up in bed, "I'm going to make love to you now."

"Eh?" Hibiki said, flushing violently, "EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"

"You don't want to?" Miku asked, brushing her hair out of her eyes, and Hibiki looked away.

"…It's not that I don't," She mumbled, "I just… Was surprised…"

"If you want me to do it, say so," Miku teased, and Hibiki softened.

"…Please…" She said quietly.

Chris found herself back in the strange dream land.

"Poyo?" Kirby asked, walking over and looking up at her, looking somewhat worried.

"Who, me?" Chris asked, sitting back down again, "I'm fine. Always have been."

Kirby looked as though he didn't believe this, and though she would never admit it, Chris didn't believe it either.

"Hey," Chris asked after a moment's silence, "I don't suppose you know why any of this is happening?"

"Poyo?" Kirby asked, sitting down next to her and putting an arm on her shoulder.

Chris drew her knees up in front of her face, and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"People who died are coming back to life," Chris said quietly, "Kanade, and if I'm right, also Serena."

"And I figure," Chris said, her voice starting to shake, "That if people related to Symphogear users are coming back to life, people from my life might come back as well."

Chris laughed through her tears. "It's funny," She said as she looked over at Kirby, "I've wanted nothing more than for my mama and papa to come back, and now that it might happen, I don't know how to feel."

"But honestly, I don't think they are coming back," Chris whispered into her knees, her eyes wide with fear, "I think someone else is coming back for me. Someone I never want to see again."

Kirby looked at Chris, and then produced a cellphone from somewhere. "Poyo," He said into it, and a star fell from the sky, coming to a stop a few feet in the air a short distance away and in front of them.

"Poyo!" Kirby said, grabbing onto the star, and he motioned for Chris to do the same.

She did. It felt sort of as if she had attached herself to it. She didn't feel stuck to it, but knew that holding on would be easy.

And it was a good thing too, because just after she grabbed onto it, the pair rocketed away, up, up into the air, and disappeared into the sky.

End Chapter Five

End chapter.


End file.
